Summer Stories...

Summer is officially in full swing, fellas! And for some reason, this year, I'm hating it less than I usually do. It might have something to do with the evening breeze here in Mumbai or the weekend beach outings though. Humid as it is, there's no denying that Spring-Summer shouts out 'bright' and 'happy' loud while my favourite season Winter can't really escape the 'dark' and 'gloomy' tags. Given my obsession with layering, I try to find ways to layer even in this heat. Back home, Summer used to be about kaal-boishakhi(Nor'wester) followed by post-storm raw mango collection, shorbot (sorbet is close but not quite the same)made with gondhoraj lebu(a variety of lime available only in Bengal), himshagar aam( again, a variety of mango available only in Bengal), staring at the scorching sun during lazy Sunday afternoons while reading and wondering if life, too, is as unforgiving at times. Things of course, have changed quite a bit here but it has been a welcome change, to say the least. The clock is ticking and with every passing day, the dreadful moment of leaving Mumbai and going back to my least favourite place is approaching closer. But this time, I'm on a mission to be happy and enjoy myself till the doomsday arrives. On that note, say hello to my daylong semi-sexy tan and my current obsession with this denim shirt!

Over-sized denim shirt, eagle ring- Colaba Causeway, maxi dress(worn as a skirt)- Sudder Street, earcuff- Linking Road, jooti, cuff - New Market, lipstick- Arresting Pink by Colorbar

I'll be back with my third obsession stripes(denim and monochrome being the other two)hopefully before leaving. Till then, take care and like I always say, keep it stylish!

The Happiness Page

After surviving the continuous "Happiness is" followed by the particular activity the writer is involved in at that moment/the person they happen to be with at that time posts and #100HappyDays hashtag all over the Social Media, I thought it was time to delve deep inside and look for a definition that has always worked for me. So, here I am, writing about something many think I don't know at all-happiness!
                                                                                                                       Now, the tricky part about happiness is that it has no single definition, or so I found. It varies from person to person, situation to situation;it even depends on the changes in the constraints to attaining happiness. My dida blesses everyone placing her right palm on their head, closing her eyes and muttering an intelligible 'bhalo theko' as if being happy is always that simple. But if one gives it a serious thought, it's not farther from truth either. Music makes someone happy, books make some others happy. Some are happy taking their dogs out for a walk while some are happy just gulping a dozen of cupcakes down. However, in most of my observations, I found love to be a constant driver behind happiness. At times, it's so intense and passionate that we can see only the pain behind it, not the happiness. But it's always there, in some form or the other. Another imperative would be pain itself. A very popular saying goes that one doesn't understand the significance of light until they see darkness very closely. Likewise, until and unless one feels pain, owns up to it, absorbs it all and then gathers the courage to smile again, one hasn't known true happiness. The journey through pain prepares one for the light ahead, teaches them to appreciate it. As for myself, I've seen pain pretty closely, both physically as well as mentally. I've loved it with all I had. But if I'm asked to choose between silent tears on my pillow and a warm smile in his embrace, I know what my choice would be. Do you know yours?

Blouse-Metro Plaza, floral pants-B.K.Market, shoes-Simpark Mall, neckpiece-gifted, cuff and ring-New Market